Chapter 555 - 553: So Arrogant?

Earlier, somewhere in the Elf Forest.

"This is bad—I’ve lost all sensing of the core authority of the ’Secondary Netherworld’."

The Dusk Sect Deadpool, You Jelieya, burst into the Recovery Temple, relaying to the other ruler of the aspect of [Life], the living being Ze Lishalin, the news he had sensed from far away within the Ista Empire. The news made Ze Lishalin’s expression change; she was taken aback.

"What happened?"

You Jelieya’s expression kept shifting, then he shook his head. "Not clear for now, but news from over there should come soon."

As he was speaking, a message floated up on his wristband: the two Tier Five Mages who had fled from the Dusk Town stronghold sent over the detailed information.

The Recording Image could not be transmitted through the Star Spirit Network for the time being; the other side said they would immediately send someone to rush it over.

"The entire Secondary Netherworld region is like a reservoir with the plug pulled—every bit of Death Aura is pouring back toward the center for reclamation?"

You Jelieya’s expression was dark and uncertain.

"You, looks like your luck hasn’t been great lately." Ze Lishalin let out a soft laugh. "But it’s just one Secondary Netherworld, the impact isn’t that big."

"The impact is huge." You Jelieya said gravely, "If this was handled by the Holy Court, if they can resolve one place, they can resolve another, and eventually destroy all the Secondary Netherworlds."

"More important than that is the God-given object. That thing must not fall into the hands of the Holy Court." Ze Lishalin’s gaze flickered.

You Jelieya was in contact with the people over there; after a moment he said, "I’ve already ordered the Shadow Mages over there to return and check whether the God-given object has been taken. But that place is the handiwork of the Gods; I don’t think the Holy Court can take it away. In the end, the God-given object will only sit there obediently, waiting to be restarted."

"We’re not over there, so you’d better prepare for the worst." Ze Lishalin said calmly.

You Jelieya didn’t take it to heart.

A long time later, the Shadow Mage who’d gone to investigate sent back dire news.

"Are you kidding me? The Holy Court took the God-given object?"

You Jelieya’s eyes went wide; even Ze Lishalin stood up.

Although Ze Lishalin had said to prepare for the worst, when the worst really happened, she couldn’t help losing her composure for a moment.

The two exchanged a look, already knowing what had to be done.

"We have to take it back!"

...

Boom!

The sudden, thunderous noise threw the entire banquet hall into brief chaos.

But very soon, the chaos subsided.

Everyone present was either a noble or a well-known Mage. Any non-noble Mages who could enter here were at least Tier Four, with ample on-the-spot response capability.

After a short flurry of confusion, everyone looked outward. Under City Lord Bois’s direction, they went outside and looked up at the castle, at the two figures bombarding the castle’s shield.

Others might not recognize them, but Bois, Flora, and the bishop of the Dawn Divine Hall did—they were clearly the two Tier Five heretics who had previously escaped.

Hilia also came outside and looked up into the sky, somewhat baffled.

Weren’t these two all about lying low? Why did they suddenly make such a high-profile appearance?

When something this abnormal happens, there’s always something fishy behind it.

What exactly would make them show up in such a high-profile way?

Hilia didn’t even need to guess.

"Lord Rose, they must be here for that Magic Puppet’s Heart from the Death faction, right?"

Rose nodded. "Most likely, yes. I just don’t know what they’re planning to do."

A Tier Five battle had nothing to do with Hilia.

After Tier Four, each tier had a huge power gap. If you ran into them, all you could do was flee.

The difference was, Tier Three couldn’t outrun them; Tier Four had a chance.

There were three Tier Fours here. Even if they couldn’t kill the enemies, they should at least be able to protect a single castle... right?

Hilia silently stayed on guard, ready to run the instant things looked bad.

Everyone present was either a High-tier Mage or a noble; none of them needed her protection.

The High-tier Mages had their own ways to escape. As for the nobles...

Hilia saw nothing~.

Only after she reached a relatively peripheral spot did Hilia finally look up at the battle in the sky—being at the edge meant her neck wouldn’t ache from looking up.

At this moment, with Bois and the other two meeting the attackers, the castle’s standalone Protective Array finally got a breather. The Array Master inside wiped off his cold sweat and hurried to repair it.

Meanwhile, Bois and the other two had already engaged the two above.

Just like at the stronghold earlier, Bois and the bishop were each locked in a one-on-one fight, while Flora stayed to one side, covering the formation, shielding the teetering Array, blocking the battle’s shockwaves so they wouldn’t shatter it.

Down below, Hilia watched for a while, her brows slowly knitting together.

"Confirmed—they definitely have some other scheme."

The two heretic Mages weren’t really fighting seriously at all; everything they did was focused on defense. The radiance of their battle lit up the entire night sky, wide open and showy, as though they were merely putting on a display of Magic’s splendor and danger.

Large-area casting was extremely lethal and dangerous to low-tier Mages and ordinary people, but it didn’t do much against opponents of the same tier. Once the Magic’s area expanded, its killing power scattered, and it couldn’t inflict effective damage on a same-tier enemy.

This act was so obvious that even Hilia could tell.

She looked at their own three.

"They should be able to tell as well. But since they don’t know about the Divine Format fragment, they’re probably just as confused, with no idea what these two Mages are actually trying to do."

Hilia muttered.

Rose smiled faintly. "Even though I’ve blocked the Heart of the Magic Puppet, it doesn’t rule out the possibility that they have some other sensing method. So be careful; they might find you very soon."

Hilia immediately drew her Magic Staff, her Spiritual Power transforming into a Mage’s Hand that swept around in a scan.

Just then, she sensed a faint fluctuation behind her and quickly looked over.

In the shadows, it was as if something there was stirring.

"A Shadow Mage." Hilia’s eyes narrowed, and she raised her hand, casting a Holy Light.

Against Mages of the Shadow faction, the Holy category was quite effective. Holy Light, holy dispelling, Purification Skills, and so on could all dispel the enemy’s shadows and force them to reveal themselves.

Of course, the special Purification Skill from Rose wasn’t specialized in dispelling, so Hilia chose to use Holy Light, relying on Holy Light to expose the enemy.

With the Holy Light flaring, in the next instant she saw a faint silhouette emerge from that blurry patch.

The other party also realized Hilia had discovered them and rushed forward, the enchanted dagger in their hand thrusting toward Hilia.

An Ice Shield appeared in front of Hilia.

But that dagger seemed to be intangible, forcibly phasing through the Ice Shield and striking directly at Hilia.

Puff!

The dagger pierced straight through the Mage Robe and sank into Hilia’s waist.

A sharp burst of pain hit; without hesitation, Hilia lifted her Magic Staff, Magic Power clinging to it as she brought it down hard on the enemy’s head.

Bang!

It was like striking an iron ball; the resulting shock made Hilia’s tiger’s mouth go numb.

Striking once and then retreating, the Shadow Mage turned into shadow again and slipped away.

Hilia summoned her Magic Puppet, a faint life force rising from it to rapidly heal her wound.

In no time, the wound was completely restored. Hilia let out a breath of relief and looked into the distance, toward the shadows faintly detected by Mage’s Hand, her eyes filled with frost.

"Damn bastard... now it’s my turn."